As Seacroft’s resident weirdo, Avery proudly flies a lot of freak flags. It’s a constant battle to be taken seriously when everything, from his red hair to his sexuality, makes him stand out in this small town.
Small towns are also a terrible place to keep secrets, and Lincoln has a bunch of them. But his demons aren’t going to hold him back from his dream job at the Seacroft Fire Department. … Department. His life is finally coming together, until the red-haired twink with the big smile and fast mouth calls in an emergency.
Pining for the hot firefighter is Avery’s newest flag, even if he agrees to be “just friends.” For Linc, every minute with Avery is a temptation. He needs to let go of his fear and admit the truth. Linc doesn’t want to be Avery’s friend; he wants to be his everything. But just as Linc is ready to risk it all, Avery gets an unexpected offer to spread his colorful wings and fly away.
Hot Potato is an 80k slow burn friends-to-lovers contemporary MM romance. It features a fast-talking accountant who’s cooler than he thinks, the closeted firefighter who loves him more than he should, and a great big happy-sigh HEA.
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Lovely , well-written story, can’t recommend it too highly!!
I love Avery so much! This is a really enjoyable series, and I think this was my favourite one? I don’t know. Tough decision.
What I Think: I absolutely loved the title! Don’t know about elsewhere but in Nigeria where I spent part of my youth, Hot Potato usually refers to a hot guy or chic that’s newly sighted, especially in pidgin English. But on with this review. From the start, I want to protect Avery who is just so sweet and awkward and ungainly yet brave in ways that even he doesn’t realise. Then I met Linc and didn’t know who I wanted to protect more. This tale is filled with sweet, awkward moments and Avery’s fumbling is so damn cute but this no filter is going to murder me via choking on everything I put in my mouth while reading this tale.
Some people deserve to be hit and smacked, preferably both. Even though I’m used to homophobia because I live in its home, I still shudder when I see it, whether in a book or real life. Something about that kind of baseless hate really triggers your flight or fight instincts and makes you feel reduced to a pure, primal state.
These two are suffering from so many similar things that it doesn’t quite seem plausible that they can give the other what they need. But then, isn’t it usually those who are broken themselves that can handle another broken soul? And don’t you just love the right kind of friends? This trio of friends is positively evil and I need a crew like this! This Authoress makes the secondary characters quite vital to the development and growth of our heroes.
What I didn’t expect was that a tale equal parts painful and awkward could be so sensual but the love-making was love-making. So beautiful that while I’d pegged Linc as a coward for running from his life, his kind of lovemaking split open and showed the heart that had tried to protect itself by running and it was so damn sweet that I was ready to run too just to preserve it.
There must be another term for painfully awkward. I, mean, how many physical and emotional hits can a person take? I can assure you though that they’re all worth it. The sweet, the cringe-worthy, the good, the ugly and the oh so sexy. All so worth it!
Verdict? A sweet and hot comfort tale as soothing as laced coffee on a wintry night and much more satisfying. You’ll be following it to the last drop!
The author of Hot Potato has one basic knack that is absoltely brilliant – she creates characters you cannot help but relate to. This makes the books very “personal” as in you feel you are reading about someone close to you. The emotions and feelings get amplified and the narration is a cherry on the cake here, making it all jump at you from the pages. It’s always a treat!
I thought this book was so sweet! After reading about Avery in the past book, I was so excited to find out that there was a book about him finding his HEA. I love how scattered his personality is, and when meeting Lincoln sparks fly. I love how this story was written and that the couple struggled to be together, and the way they were brought back together was kind of cute. Overall this was a great book, and if you have read the other books to dive right into this one too!
What a meet-cute! Scott and Vasquez to the rescue
4.5stars The book starts with a weirdly endearing meet-cute and maintains its quirky humor while building friendship, heat and romance between firefighter Linc (Scott) and numbers man and sometimes clutz Avery. I did not quite get how a timed bake in the microwave could end up in a fire, but I give the author artistic license for creating a unique way to open the story and bring these two together. Then synchronicity kicks in over the gaming console and they’re away and on the road to confidence sharing and a relationship!
Both guys have homophobic trauma from their past and, to make it worse, unsupportive parents. Their weaknesses and insecurities were realistic, the writing was good, and the obstacles were a bit out of the usual mold for this type of story, like Avery’s loyalty-driven work dilemma, and the finish is a total cozy, feel-good moment. Although the two have some fraught moments, the anxiety is fairly low key and the passion is turned up, with some fun secondary characters like Vasquez and Wanda adding their own flavor to an enjoyable treat of a story.
I read a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest review.
Sweet, adorably awkward Avery stole my heart in book 2, Cold Pressed, and I was so excited to read his story and see him get the HEA he so deserves. I was not let down! Despite what others in the town think about him, Avery is strong and resilient, and is very caring and loyal to those around him. Working at his uncle’s accounting firm, Avery hasn’t had much of a chance to spread his wings but that all changes when he gets an awfully tempting offer. The only thing holding him in Seacroft is his aunt and uncle who took him in when his parents gave up on him, and Lincoln, the new firefighter. The new, closeted firefighter who Avery thinks is straight…
Not only does Lincoln bring Avery out of his shell more, but Avery does the same for Lincoln. Starting as just friends, the obvious attraction and chemistry is ever-present between them. So much so, that the wait almost killed me! However, it ended up being one of the most delicious slow burns, packed with sexual tension and of course, feelings. My favourite parts had to be anytime Linc got jealous of someone else being around Avery (the birthday party scene was especially hot) or whenever he went into protector mode. Together, they were unbelievably sweet and sexy, and I’m honestly just plain sad it’s over and I can’t experience their story again for the first time. There will certainly be many re-reads in the future though!
[I received an advanced reader’s copy from the author and in exchange, I am happily providing my honest review and recommendation].
Avery and Linc, the final book in the Seacrest series. Love Avery accidental clumsiness, it makes him adorable. Loved this whole series and sad to see it end. Slow start but it builds to a great book
I had the pleasure of reading an early copy of Allison Temple’s Hot Potato, and I have eagerly awaited its release ever since. The author had me right from chapter one. I couldn’t help but fall in love with Avery and Linc. I also really enjoyed the cast of secondary characters as well. Ms. Temple has created a community called Seacroft, and it’s peopled with characters who feel so real. You could be friends with any one of them, and you want to. I love the humour in this romance, and the growing love between the two leads is such a memorable story. Oh, and hot firefighters never hurt. I can’t wait to catch up on the rest of the series.
Sweet Love!
Avery, fairly young, just left his Aunt and Uncle’s house to live on his own. People do not take him seriously, maybe because he looks young and he is a little clumsy. Although it belies how good he is at numbers.
Lincoln, now a firefighter and just started with a new firehouse. But he is keeping some secrets, some personal stuff that he is quite adamant on keeping. Answering to a call for a small fire emergency brought him face to face with someone might be attracted to, which he cannot allow.
Small town, not many places to go to and not too many people their age to meet. But sometimes homophobes are running rampant as well, not probably a lot, but still. Also in small towns, not a lot of places to hang out in so instead people are occupied with online gaming.
Acquaintances who became friends, and slowly developing into more. A sweet burgeoning relationship between two good people who have their individual issues to get through but somehow begin seeing each other in a new way. Having something similar happening to them when they were younger sort of banded these two characters.
Would they be brave enough to weather the opinions of others? Be strong enough to be who they truly are and be happy with it? And will they overcome their insecurities enough so that they can have a real relationship.
A tale of first time boyfriends, first relationships, never having experienced a full relationship before. Sweetness and awkwardness abound, but that’s what make this tale so adorable.
The first two books in this series are incredible in their own right, but Hot Potato is beyond amazing. Lincoln and Avery are the sweetest, most endearing characters and I’m absolutely in love with them.
Avery is a cute,adorable,walking disaster. He’s also funny and kind hearted, so it’s no surprise that Lincoln can’t get enough of him:
” ’ . ’ .”
Two men with difficult pasts meet and their souls see their loneliness reflected in each other’s eyes. And their story made me laugh out loud,while feeling deeply for their troubles. Kudos to Allison Temple for managing that. Because,really, I went from snickering to fanning myself,to being on the brink of tears…and the circle repeated itself.
Great job at writing characters, main and secondary ones, heart warming romance, laughter, sadness, love…
…just brilliant. I can’t recommend Hot Potato enough.
Hot Potato is the third book in the Seacroft Stories series by Allison Temple. This is a slow burn, friends to lovers, contemporary MM romance. It also deals with topics such as homophobia, coming out, and people trying to figure out the rules of love. Avery and Linc are interesting and wonderful characters, even though there were some misunderstandings/angst between these two that made me shake my head at them. I truly enjoyed every moment of this sweet and funny love story.
I received an advanced reader’s copy of the book and I am voluntarily leaving my honest review and recommendation.
Oh man, I’m glad Avery got his story and this was perfect. Linc and Avery were just so cute together and talk about a meet-cute! It was fast paced with a bit of a slow build. I thought it was sweet and sexy and I totally fell in love with them. I really liked this story and read in one go. I definitely recommend this sweet story.
After finishing this my first thought was – how is it that this my first book by this author??
I frickin loved Avery and Linc. I loved the shy and quirky Avery. I found him to be adorable and I could see why Linc found him irresistible. Linc on the other hand took a bit longer to love. He slowly grow on me. Once i found out why he was scared to come out it all made perfect sense. Together they were the cutest and I was really hoping that life would give them a break so that they both could FINALLY feel happiness. It took them a while but when they were finally free of the past – life seemed almost perfect.
***Review copy requested and reviewed on behalf of OMGReads Blog***
This must’ve been exactly what I was in the mood to read because I opened it up, started reading, and never wanted to put it down. And all of that has to do with the cutest cinnamon roll character ever, Avery, who’s the most adorable thing since bunnies. I adored everything about him.
There were times I felt disconnected from his love interest, Lincoln, but he and Avery were a good fit together, and I enjoyed their friends to lovers romance.
Three, possibly four, subplots remained unresolved by the end of the novel, which did leave me with some questions when I finished, but overall? Incredibly well-written and it brings out all the feels. I laughed out loud, I cried on public transit, and I wanted to hug Avery and give him a comforting pat on the head throughout the entire thing. Highly enjoyable and recommended.